UN News Center - The United Nations today strongly condemned the detention and
abuse by the Sudanese armed forces of four UN peacekeepers who were on patrol in Kadugli, the
main town in Southern Kordofan, where fighting is raging between the northern and southern
armies.

The harassment of the peacekeepers was blamed on members of the northern army known as the
Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), UN spokesperson Martin Nesirky told reporters in New York.

“The Sudanese Armed Forces, the [southern] Sudan People’s Liberation Army [SPLA] and other
armed groups must immediately stop intimidating and harassing UN staff, who are critical to
provide the necessary humanitarian assistance to the vulnerable populations,” said Mr. Nesirky.

He said security and the humanitarian situation in Southern Kordofan remained of very serious
concern amid intermittent fighting, shelling and military build-up in various areas of the state.

In the other disputed area of Abyei, the UN peacekeeping Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) confirmed
that six shells fired by SAF earlier today landed 150 metres away from an UNMIS base in Agok.
There is no report of casualties.

“We are in the process of verifying the details, as the SAF is claiming the shelling was part of an
exercise, while the SPLA is stating that the SAF shelling was targeting SPLA positions and
intimidating the local population around Agok. It remains to be determined precisely what
happened,” said the UN spokesperson.

“Both sides must stop military actions, which are not only a threat to the UN in the area but to the
local populations in the area,” he added.

Yesterday, a UNMIS team landing in Magennes – a contested area along the border of Upper Nile
and Southern Kordofan states – was briefly detained by Government of Sudan police. The UNMIS
team was accompanied by two members of the United Kingdom and United States consulates in
Juba, the capital of Southern Sudan.

According to the Government of Sudan officials in the area, the flight did not have the requisite
landing authorization, although UNMIS had obtained flight clearances from the Government of
Southern Sudan in Juba. The entire team was released and returned to Malakal in Upper Nile state
and no one was harmed in the incident.